Our Next Chapter

When I was in 2008, I teamed together with one of my most close friends at the time. Stu McLaren and I combined our expertise together to form Member.

We did not know that we would embark on an amazing and unimaginable adventure. WordPress is growing at an impressive pace. It was a thrilling time. It was unclear, however there were a number of signs suggesting that WordPress would surpass both Joomla and Drupal.

For a better understanding, Katy Perry and Lady Gaga had been making waves when they first entered the music scene. Some of our team members were still in grade school at the time we began.

In the internet marketing world the discussion of membership sites were the talk of the town. However, there were not any options for creating an online membership website using WordPress. Many development companies focussed on themes. Consequently, the premium plugin market was virtually not even a thing.

We saw it as an opportunity and acted immediately. Mike Lopez was our Jedi programmer, who was able to create whatever that we asked him to create. He built the first version of Member by himself in just three months.

As with my previous business in the field of software, we noticed the need for a solution, so we developed a solid answer to the common challenge. Naturally, Members saw some RAPID Growth. The first year, the majority of sales came from words of word. Our sales grew well beyond a year before we spent a dime on advertising.

These are the opportunities the entrepreneur hopes to take advantage of.

In the early days of our existence, we received our first enquiry about selling our company. This was a nice gesture, but they were seeking existing brands that had a strong owner who is ready to retire. We were fresh and full of enthusiasm So it made zero sense.

In the end, the initial inquiry was a solid validation. Members were always "Built to Sell" and there were people interested.

Shortly after the first inquiry I was talking to an acquaintance who I considered a trusted advisor. His entrepreneurial experience includes owning several different businesses. One of these is one that is a Venture Capital Firm. The founder also sold numerous firms previously. It's no surprise that the guy is a pro.

A friend of mine shared an important point of wisdom. He explained, "the secret to selling your business is to find out who is buying and then make everything about your company a perfect fit."

The advice made a lot of sense for me, however I had a few tiny issues. The first is that when you're a partner you're never building an organization that only one of the partners would like to build. You're building what the partners have agreed to construct together. Second, we could never determine the purchaser.

There was a time when Stu and I decided to make Mike a minority partner. I think it was 2010.

Things changed significantly in Late 2014. Stu made the decision to pursue his passion for instructing and focusing on helping people build effective membership websites. Mike as well as I stayed with the software company.

Then, I was the majority shareholder with member. It was terrifying and exciting at the same time.

The leadership team I was part of and my took a trip to Colorado in order to focus on the planning.

It became abundantly clear that we needed to do some recalibration. It was time to put aside the focus on what we had accomplished in the past and get certain of what we are able to do in the coming years. Personally, I needed to put aside the idea of building an organization that I believed people would be interested in buying and think about the type of business I'd like to run.

These past few years have taught me many things. One simple lesson is that Isolation is the death of entrepreneurs. Being in business can be quite lonely at times. You absolutely must have friends and relations that assist you in creating balance and order to the forces.

You never know when a relationship will turn into friendship...

I had the pleasure of meeting Micah Mitchell at a conference. He was a partner with an individual who had an application similar to Member. Some would have considered them to be an actual competitor. I wasn't thinking much about it and just felt like the guy was great and would love to know him more.

A few years later and Micah was leaving his former partnership and started a company named Memberium. In the past, many would have considered him even much more of a threat. The only thing I could say was that I liked the guy.

It was further confirmed when I ran into him at the security checkpoint at the airport. We had a great time discussing the things we had been working on We then discovered we were assigned to sit next to each other on the flight. Is this just a ploy? It's likely that someone lined this up. But it was random.

On that same trip, we started brainstorming about the best April Fool's joke, where we'd announce that Micah just acquired Member. We thought it might be referred to as Memberium. Perhaps we'll add 360 to the name just to make it more interesting. The few who are reading this article will be able to comprehend.

The first time I was allocated seat beside my software rival (thanks Delta!) turned into a valuable friendship. He and I would meet monthly to talk business over dinner for the next couple of years. Sadly, our meetings came to an end when my family and I relocated back to Tennessee. There were many great relationships during our time in Utah which was difficult to leave them behind.

I love designing software. It's thrilling to see an idea become a reality is thrilling. It's especially exhilarating when you work with an awesome team and your product is much more than you imagined it would be. One great example is our latest release of the courses add-ons available for member.

Although it's as exciting as it sounds, the reality is it can also be difficult. When you reach the one-yard line and it's close to scoring, it's possible to be through the air exhausted from all of your hard work.

When we had finished with the creation and plan for the release of our new product, I was feeling exhausted. I was starting to recognize the best option was to find a real market partner. Someone who understood the marketplace and could assist me to take Member to the next level. I have made several calls to my best business contacts. My wife told me that Micah is on my shortlist. I made her a promise that I would reach out to him on the next day.

The moment I called Micah, he randomly sent me an SMS message. It was kind of similar to sitting with him on the flight. There are times when you know that there is a reason for everything.

The discussions grew into the idea of me selling Member to Micah's firm MemberShipper who is also the organization that supports Memberium. It turns out what we were building through Member was exactly what MemberShipper was looking to expand their portfolio.

Over the years I've received a lot of inquiries about selling the business. None of them ever felt like they were. It was extremely important to me to have Member keep growing as a brand. Also, I wanted to be certain that our wonderful team would be taken care of.

Each step was becoming more evident that this was the best future for Members, the team and the thousands and thousands awesome customers who have supported us for so long.

I'm incredibly thankful to the leadership teams from both of the sides. They have been working hard to make the transition as effortless as it can be for me. It's impressive to watch the team working in a cohesive manner.

A common query I'm receiving now is "What's next to you?".

Although I think I'd be REALLY good at being retired, what I really need is a sabbatical. I am planning to take the time to enjoy some well-deserved personal time.

What does all this mean for you if you're a Member?

To put it in a nutshell, you can anticipate the team to keep innovating and Members is constantly being developed and refined. It's not going anywhere.

I am committed to working alongside Micah as well as the rest of the team for a whole year. They have put me in a job that could easily be called my dream job. I'm now the "Director of Strategic Partnerships" for both brands that are owned by MemberShipper.

Expect to see me at numerous gatherings in the coming months. My personal strategy is to offer the most value possible for the next year. It is my dream to see Member advance up to the next step under Micah's direction.

It's possible that I will remain around longer than anyone would have ever expected.

I've never felt more confident about the future of Member like I do today. The company is just beginning to get started.

Read Micah's complete announcement regarding the acquisition on the acquisition here.

There is also...